Moldova Population: 3,510,485

Part of Romania during the interwar period, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although the country has been independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River supporting the breakaway region of Transnistria, composed of a Slavic majority population (mostly Ukrainians and Russians), but with a sizable ethnic Moldovan minority. Europe's poorest economy, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist, Vladimir VORONIN, as its president in 2001. VORONIN served as Moldova's president until he resigned in September 2009. Four Moldovan opposition parties then formed a new coalition, the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), iterations of which acted as Moldova's governing coalitions over the next several years. In May 2013, two of the original AEI parties and a splinter group from a third re-formed a ruling coalition called the Pro-European Coalition. The Moldovan Government in summer 2014 signed and ratified an Association Agreement with the EU, advancing the Coalition's policy priority of EU integration. Following the country's most recent legislative election in November 2014, the three pro-European parties that entered Parliament won a total of 55 of the body's 101 seats. Infighting among coalition members led to prolonged legislative gridlock and political instability, as well as the collapse of two governments, all ruled by pro-European coalitions centered around the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) and the Democratic Party (PDM). A political impasse ended in January 2016 when a new parliamentary majority led by PDM, joined by defectors from the Communists and PLDM, supported Pavel FILIP as prime minister.

cabinet: Cabinet proposed by the prime minister-designate, nominated by the president, approved through a vote of confidence in Parliament elections/appointments: president directly elected for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 13 November 2016 (next to be held in fall 2020); prime minister designated by the president upon consultation with Parliament; within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request a vote of confidence for his/her proposed work program from the Parliament

highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice (consists of a chief judge, 3 deputy-chief judges, 45 judges, and 7 assistant judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president and 6 judges); note - the Constitutional Court is autonomous to the other branches of government; the Court interprets the Constitution and reviews the constitutionality of parliamentary laws and decisions, decrees of the president, and acts of the government judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Justice judges appointed by Parliament upon the recommendation of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy; all judges serve 4-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed 2 each by Parliament, the Moldovan president, and the Higher Council of Magistracy; court president elected by other court judges for a 3-year term; other judges appointed for 6-year terms

represented in Parliament: Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN] Democratic Party of Moldova or PDM [Marian LUPU] Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova or PLDM [Valeriu STRELET, acting] Liberal Party or PL [Mihai GHIMPU] Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PSRM [Zinaida GRECEANII, acting] not represented in Parliament: Action and Solidarity Party or PAS [Maia SANDU] Anti-Mafia Movement or MPA [Sergiu MOCANU] Centrist Union of Moldova or UCM [Mihai PETRACHE] Christian Democratic People's Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA] Conservative Party or PC [Natalia NIRCA] Democracy at Home Party or PPDA [Vasile COSTIUC] Democratic Action Party or PAD [Mihai GODEA] Dignity and Truth Platform or PDA [Andrei NASTASE] Ecologist Green Party or PVE [Anatolie PROHNITCHI] European People’s Party of Moldova or EPPM [Iurie LEANCA] Popular Democratic Party of Moldova or PPDM [Valeriu PASAT] Labor Party or PM [Marcel DARIE] Liberal Reformers Party or PLR [Ion HADARCA] “Motherland” Party or PP [Emilian CIOBU] National Liberal Party or PNL [Vitalia PAVLICENKO] Our Home Moldova or PCNM [Grigore PETRENCO] Our Party or PN [Renato USATII] People’s Party of Moldova or PPRM [Alexandru OLEINIC] Progressive Society Party or PSP [Oleg MATVEI] Regions Party of Moldova or PRM [Alexandr KALININ] “Right” Party or PD [Ana GUTU] Russian-Slavean Party of Moldova or PRSM [Oleg TOPOLNITKI] Shor Party or PS [Ilan SHOR] Social Democratic Party or PSD [Victor SELIN] Social-Political Movement “New Force” or MFN [Valeriu PLESCA] Socialist People’s Party of Moldova or PPSM [Victor STEPANIUC] United Moldova Party or PMUEM [Vladimir TURCAN]

Despite recent progress, Moldova remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. With a moderate climate and productive farmland, Moldova's economy relies heavily on its agriculture sector, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova also depends on annual remittances of about $1.12 billion from the roughly one million Moldovans working in Europe, Russia, and other former Soviet Bloc countries. With few natural energy resources, Moldova imports almost all of its energy supplies from Russia and Ukraine. Moldova's dependence on Russian energy is underscored by a more than $5 billion debt to Russian natural gas supplier Gazprom, largely the result of unreimbursed natural gas consumption in the breakaway region of Transnistria. Moldova and Romania inaugurated the Ungheni-Iasi natural gas interconnector project in August 2014. The 43-kilometer pipeline between Moldova and Romania, allows for both the import and export of natural gas. Several technical and regulatory delays kept gas from flowing into Moldova until March 2015. Romanian gas exports to Moldova are largely symbolic. Moldova hopes to build a pipeline connecting Ungheni to Chisinau, bringing the gas to Moldovan population centers. The government's stated goal of EU integration has resulted in some market-oriented progress. Moldova experienced better than expected economic growth in 2014 due to increased agriculture production, to economic policies adopted by the Moldovan government since 2009, and to the receipt of EU trade preferences. Moldova signed an Association Agreement and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU during fall 2014, connecting Moldovan products to the world’s largest market. Still, a $1 billion asset-stripping heist of Moldovan banks in late 2014 delivered a significant shock to the economy in 2015; a subsequent bank bailout increased inflationary pressures and contributed to the depreciation of the leu. Moldova’s growth has also been hampered by endemic corruption and a Russian import ban on Moldova’s agricultural products. Over the longer term, Moldova's economy remains vulnerable to corruption, political uncertainty, weak administrative capacity, vested bureaucratic interests, higher fuel prices, Russian political and economic pressure, and unresolved separatism in Moldova's Transnistria region.

state-owned national radio-TV broadcaster operates 1 TV and 1 radio stations; a total of nearly 70 terrestrial TV channels and some 50 radio stations are in operation; Russian and Romanian channels also are available (2016)

National Army: Land Forces Command, Air Forces Command (includes air defense unit); Carabinieri Troops: a component of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that also has official status as a service of the Armed Forces (2016)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; male registration required at age 16; 1-year service obligation (2016)

Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor the transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria region, which remains under the auspices of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe-mandated peacekeeping mission comprised of Moldovan, Transnistrian, Russian, and Ukrainian troops